Kingdom Hearts: Another Side, Another Story
by SymphonicMetalChocobos
Summary: What if Roxas' best friend wasn't Axel, but Xigbar? Axel and Xigbar's roles, reversed? Though Roxas are Xigbar something more than just friends.. Everything's changed now, even the past. It's Another side, Another chapter in a deeper mystery... XigRoku
1. Chapter 1

_'You gotta figure, everything starts someplace. The closest thing for me is when I was just seven days old, and I met her.'_

**Day 7**

The World That Never Was, inhabited by the strongest of the nobodies, and multitudes of mindless heartless. The dim light of the Castle That Never Was, named after its home world, stood like a metallic fortress, floating above dark buildings and even darker trees, and world who's only light came from the castle and the many neon signs attatched to buildings...

Roxas awoke slowly, blue orbs opening and blinking; He was in the castle, he realized. In a small movement, he swung his legs over the side of the bed, large black boots mking dull contact with what resembled less a floor and more of the inside of a spaceship. Today was making his debut as Number XIII, the last member of Organization XIII. They recruited him, he was told, becaus he had a strong heart, thus a nobody was born. He exited his room without so much as a sound, strolling down glass-like stairs with a bored look on his face. He saw a open doorway, which he remebered to be the Grey Area, where he was supposed to meet someone named 'Xigbar', who ever that was...

Strolling in, he looked around. It appeared to be a plain living room, with a couch, chairs and a table on one side, and just some chairs and a table on the other, colored in boring metallic greys, blues, and whites, adding to the sense of this being more of a prison, and less of a home. His eyes met with a man with fiery red hair, sitting on a couch, and then a digusted woman with cropped yellow-blond hair resting in a chair. He saw...what was his name? Oh yeah, Saix, the man with blue hair who gave out missions; Xemnas explained this in his tour of the castle. Then he saw a man with a grey and black striped ponytail, who leaned up against the massive window, arms crossed and a indifferent look on his scarred face; His gold orb wandered over and locked in place with Roxas'.

"Yo Roxas, how's it goin'?" The man greeted him with a strange grin of white fangs.

Roxas looked down, keeping his mouth shut.

"Not much of a chatterbox are we, kid?" The man chuckled."Name's Xigbar, and unfortunately, we got a borin' old meetin' in the Round Room..."

The man huffed, and frowned, scratching the nape of his neck as Roxas attempted to process the information.

"Round...Room..?" Roxas finally stated, blue orbs laced with confusion and ignorance.

"Yep, and we better get a move on. Apparently Mr. Boss man's got some big news. Wanna head over there now?"

"Okay..." Roxas breathed quietly.

"Alrighty then, follow me kiddo." Xigbar said, opening a swirling black and purple portal.

"Good tidings friends," Superior Xemnas deep baritone voice rang out, echoing throughout the round room, specifically made for the purpose of acoustics."Today is a momentous day.

I am pleased to announce that a new comrade has been chosen to wear the coat..."

Down below, a small teenagers strolled into the room with purpose, face comepletely hidden by their hood.

"Number XIV..."

Roxas stared down at the girl with a confused gaze.. Just like when he arrived...

"Let us all welcome one of the Keyblades chosen.."

That man..Xigbar, his name was, had escorted him into the Round Room, where the intersted, bored, or indeferrent faces of his superior's looked down upon him. The amber gaze of Xemnas, he remembered, was the most striking...and gapsed softly as the girl looked up at him from behind her hood.


	2. Chapter 2

He awoke in his metallic room again, but oddly, he didn't remember falling asleep, or if he even dreamt. Ignoring this fact, Roxas exited his room, making his way to the Grey Room without getting lost. Strolling into the rightly named room, he watched with sullen eyes as Saix strolled up to him, appearently awaiting his arrival.

"Roxas, your work begins today," Saix spoke in a monotone voice, acidic lemon orbs devoid of emotion as he stared down a Roxas with a air of authority and arrogance."I will issue missions, which the Organization expects you to carry out. Thimk of these early missions as exercises. You still have much to learn before we put you to a real test."

Saix turned his head to Xigbar, who waited with his back against the massive glass window, arms crossed while he stared out into space, oblivious. "Xigbar will be joining you you your first time." Saix annnounced, and the latter looked over lazily."Isn't that right, Number II?"

"Well, damn. " Xigbar snickered, rolling his eye."You makin' me the kid's babysitter, are ya? Ass..." Xigbar muttered the last part under his breath, before sauntering up to Saix, standing a full head and more above the blunette.

"Surely you don't mind showing Roxas here the ropes?" Saix said, slightly perterbed at his superior's attitute towards Roxas, who may hold the key to their futures as a Keyblade wielder. '_How insolent...'_ He snarled to himself. "Roxas, come see me when you're ready to go..."

He walked away, shaking his head. Xigbar turned towards the dwarfed teenager next to him, smirking.

"Ya heard him, eh? Seems startin' today, I'll be your regular ol' babysitter. Will I need to change your diaper, now?" Xigbar said with mock disdain, crossing his arms_. 'Babysittin' job? This sucks, what an suck-up asshole...First de-throned by that asswipe, now this? C'mon... Gimme somethin' better to do..'_ Xigbar thought.

Roxas looked down with a touch of irritation and spite, huffing.

"Come on, kid, it was a joke. Lighten up, ya lil' zombie..." Xigbar gave a disarming grin, and ruffled Roxas' hair before walking away, letting Roxas stare at him with a urge to smack him, yet with a wondering gaze; The latter took his place resting against the massive window. Roxas continued to stare at Xigbar, who ignored him and everyone else in favor on spacing out. He in turn huffed and walked up to Saix, who simply sighed and shook his head.

"You're ready to go, I suppose?" Saix didn't even acknowledge Roxas.

"Okay..." Roxas gave a soft reply; When Xigbar heard Roxas speak, he strolled over.

"Teach him well, Xigbar." Saix said in parting.

"Yeah, yeah.." Xigbar scoffed."I'll be sure the kid makes the grade. C'mon Roxas, le's get outta here."

Roxas didn't say a word as the sniper opened a oily black and purple portal, too enthralled by the tiny girl standing near Saix; Xigbar looked over with a smirk, tapping Roxas on the head.

"What's up? You worried 'bout the new kid?" He asked playfully, crossing his arms."Damn, what was that name again..."

"Number XIV, Xion." Saix butted in the conversation, making Xigbar glare at him.

"I knew that."

"Xion." Roxas muttered softly.

"Got it down pat, don'cha?" Xigbar said with a grin.

"...Yeah.." Roxas nodded, and looked down again.

"Ya sure? Hrm...How 'bout my name?" Xigbar inquired with a raised eyebrow, grinning like a hyena.

"It's Xigbar." Roxas responded as quiet as ever, not even looking up at the much taller man.

'C'mon, kid, I don't bite. 'Least not too much," Xigbar chuckled and ruffled the teen's spikey hair again, evoking a 'hmph' from the latter."How 'bout our boss's name?"

"Xemnas..."

"Very cool, Roxas. Ain't gonna forget, now are ya? Let's get this show on the road." Xigbar beckoned for Roxas to follow him through the portal. With a flash, dull light dazzled them as the pair strolled into what appeared to be a sallow tunnel made of golden bricks and sorrel colored wood. To his right was a silver, steel gate and in front of him was a small platform, connected to a larger one. It was alot different compared to the castle with its monotone greys and whites, marked only by metallic blues every so often, with ornate patterns carved into the walls with, guess what: Grey and whites, the only colors. For nobodies, they could at leats have some color in the castle, maybe a dash of red or a splash of green, lighten up the dank atmosphere.

"Now," Xigbar turned to the teen behind him with a smirk."Lemme tell ya what we do on missions. So, Missions are...uhh...Well, all ya gotta do is...huh..."

Roxas watched with a sense of confusion as the man who was supposed to be _teaching _him, was tittering to himself as he attempted to explain what missions are. For a man who looked so interesting and shrewd at first glance, he certainly failed in those catagories... He gave a small, humorous 'huh' at the man, who simply scowled and scratched at the nape of his neck, muttering.

"Hey, you don't know nothin', so...Eh, y'know what?" Xigbar exclaimed suddenly, smirking."Talking is stupid. How 'bout we get our hands dirty, eh? Least you ain't gonna laugh when you start working'yer ass off like the rest'a us. Follow me."

Roxas raised a eyebrow and as the sniper abruptly turned and dashed, executing a acrobatic front flip to reach the top of the platform. Xigbar turned with a smirk, crossing his arms. Roxas frowned at the silent challege, and charged at the platform, leaping as high as could. He only succeeded in barely grasping the foudation before he pulled himself up with a flip, landing on feet, but falling squarely onto his backside with a groan; He heard mocking clapping and he looked up.

"There ya go, kid. Good job." Xigbar said, bending down with a grin to tap the teen on his head."Too bad I ain't got'a prize for ya. Oh well."

"Thanks." Roxas said with a small smirk at the tiny triumph; Said triumph was slighty crushed when Xigbar spoke again with a laugh.

"But don't think all ya gotta do is run'n jump through all yer missions. It'd be nice, but nothin' would ever get done. Since ya don't gotta do that, you need to BE AWARE!" Xigbar said, making exagerated hand movements as he spoke as if this was a pantomime."Heartless'll eat'cha up if you ain't payin' attention. Got a scar ta prove it."

"What...What do you mean? Heartless?"

Xigbar slapped his forehead,"Exactly that, but you hafta look around. Sometimes what'cha lookin' for is, like, right their next to ya. Memorize this kid. And Heartless...eh, you'll found out."

Roxas stared into a playful golden orb with wonder. This man obviously had been through alot...He wondered what else the man knew. The only thing was...why did he move his hands like that? To help him get the point? It was as if the man couldn't help it, like he had Tourette's Syndrome...

"Y..yeah, I think so." Roxas smiled.

"Cools. Time for a test." Xigbar smirked."Get that brain workin' in there lil' zombie. There's a treasure chest here, and I need ya to find it."

"That's all I have to do?" Roxas questioned, slight confused. He thought he was going to do more than find a simple treasure chest...

"I know, don't hurt yerself. Them treasure chests are feisty lil' things, ain't they? Anyways, don't forget ta look. I'll follow, so go wherever." Xigbar let out a empty laugh as he stared at a expectant Roxas.

Roxas nodded and decided to go left first, following the pathway down golden stairs. Oddly, there were a few boxes, but he ignored them, continuing past the closed off arch. A blue number '4', outlined by white poined towards the left, so Roxas followed, with Xigbar smirking.

"Dead-end, ain't it?" Xigbar read the teen's mind.

"Yeah.." Roxas huffed.

"Gotta be aware..." Roxas ignored the man's chiding remark, and turned around, heading towards their starting point; He scowled at the chuckles behind him. Passing where the portal lie, he ran into the next opening where he saw a switch. It seemed if he flipped it, a shortcut to the portal was unblocked; He flipped the switch, and the gate adjacent to him creaked and slid upward.

"Good eye, that's bein' aware kid." Xigbar said, following Roxas, who jumped down to another section of the tunnel. He poked around the corner, where the latter was attempting to figure out the strange barricade.

"Xigbar...What's this?" Roxas questioned as said sniper strolled up to him lazily.

"A barricade. It means you ain't supposed to go this way, duh. " Xigbar mock sneered, fiddling with his ponytail.

"You mean there's nothing down there?" Roxas asked another question; Damn kid asked _alot _of questions... Wasn't Xemnas or Saix supposed to explain stuff like this? Wow, he really was a babysitter...

"'Course there's stuff down there, it don't just lead off to empty space and aliens. We just ain't supposed to go down there, them barricades keep us on track." Xigbar chuckled again.

"Empty space and aliens?" Roxas remarked with confusion.

"'Course not." Xigbar ignored the implications of him being crazy in the teen's statement."Also keeps us outta trouble. I mean, big freaky lookin' X? If I didn't know it wasn't gonna hurt me, I'd take the beaten path, thanks."

"They don't hurt?"

"Nope."

"Huh, they look like it."

"Yeah, keep movin' kiddo."

Roxas continued down the path; south was blocked by yet another gate, so he went north where he spied a twinkle of something shiny.

"Hey, look, ya found it. Good job, but no prizes from me..." Xigbar said, congradulating Roxas, who strolled up to the treasure chest proudly.

"Now what?" Roxas questioned.

"Always with the questions, kid.." Xigbar sighed and shrugged."Get yer prize. I never said you weren't gonna get one, eh."

"I thought I was just supposed to find the chest. Aren't I done?"

"Kid, chest's got stuff in'em. Prizes and shit, c'mon."

"So should I open the chest?"

Xigbar merely stared at the appearently ignorant teenager in front of him, before he burst into laughter.

"Duh, 'course ya are!" He guffawed, shaking his head while Roxas pouted and scowled again."I mean, yeah, that's generally what we do! It's a free-for-all, get the prize!"

Roxas ignored Xigbar, and tapped his keyblade on the chest; it popped open with a '_clink' _and he reached inside, pulling out a bottle of shiny green liquid: A Potion.

"Good work.." Xigbar had finally stopped laughing at Roxas enough to speak normally. "You got yer prize. Now, it's time to RTC."

"RTC?" Roxas looked at up at Xigbar, whose expression had switched from laughing to still about to laugh, yet slighty annoyed.

"Questions, questions...RTC, return to castle, y'know, home? HQ? No? Awright, just lead us back to the portal, but don't get lost." Xigbar gave Roxas a short snicker.

Roxas nodded, but laughed inwardly, running around the corner to where he knew the shortcut was. He hopped down with Xigbar behind him.

"So bravo," Xigbar broke the silence before Roxas stepped into the portal."Whaddaya think? Got the hang'a things?"

"Uh-huh." Roxas muttered.

"What was that ya said? My pointy ears diiidn't quite catch that." Xigbar said with a grin.

"I said..."

"Hrrm?"

"I could have done that blindfolded." Roxas said with a air of arrogance, yet annoyance at the mission.

"Ha ha! I don' think a blindfolded zombie on the loose is a good thing, kid." Xigbar outright snickered in Roxas' face, ruffling the boy's hair much to the latter's irritation."Awright smart aleck, ya did good. Do you need a prize that bad? Guess I can let it slid, no missions complete without a lil' icin' on the cake. C'mon."

Xigbar turned and began to walk away, but Roxas stopped him. "But...don't we have to RTC?"

"A-ha. Lost the arrongance, did'ja? Later. Don't you remember our hangout?" Xigbar asked jokingly, with with a tone seriousness.

"What hangout?"

"The Clocktower." Xigbar said.

"Oh." Roxas quipped.

"C'mon, I'm buying. But you pay next time." Xigbar clapped his hand down on Roxas shoulder, calling up a portal. "I'll go get the icecream while you wait."

"Buying what?" Xigbar had already left, so he shrugged and headed through the portal in front of. Arriving on pale beige stone, he stared down at the many roof's colored pale blue, greens, pinks, and oranges, relishing the breath taking view of Twilight Town's neverending sunset, green sea and periwinkle train bridge, where a odd purple and golden train traversed the rails slowly. He sat on the edge of the thick railing overlooking the massive clock; This was the clocktower afterall. Fiddling with the metal straps on his coat, he glanced at the worn, golden-brown bricks behind his head, and the train station down below. He turned at the familiar '_whoosh'_ of a portal opening, and Xigbar stood with two sticks of cyan-colored icecream. Xigbar grinned at him and flopped down next to him, handing him a stick.

"Here ya go, the icing on the cake." Xigbar said with raised eyebrows."Take it."

"..." Roxas was silent as Xigbar bit a chuck of salty sweet ice cream from the bar.

"You r'member what dis ice cream ish called, kid?" Xigbar asked out of the blue, staring at a quiet Roxas as he chewed the firm yet softening substance.

"Umm..."

"It's Sea-salt Ice cream. C'mon, I already told ya once. Try and remember, kid." Xigbar chuckled as Roxas took a bite.

"I's really salty...but sweet, too." Roxas whispered finally, rubbing his tongue along the roof of his mouth to pick up any traces of unique ice cream.

"Ha ha! You said the same thing the other day."

"I did? I don't remember that..."

"Hey," Xigbar ignored the comment."It's been, like, a week since you showed up?"

"Maybe." Roxas stared out into the sunset, confused and silent. Why couldn't he remember anything? There was nothing to give him a reason too maybe, no exceptional events, just...living.

"'Maybe?' C'mon, you gotta remember that much, kid." Xigbar stated with a smirk.

Nothing but silence, so he spoke again, sensing the teens growing anxiety.

"Well, that's a-okay. Today's where it begins anyways." Xigbar ruffled the teen's blond locks again, and his hand with pushed away playfully.

"Yeah?"

"Sure. You're out in the field now, workin'... Today, you're one of us." Xigbar said with pride.

"I guess it's a start..." Roxas muttered.

_That was my first day working for the Organization. _

_They gave me missions, and I carried them out._

_But if you asked me what my job was..._

_I would have just stared at you..._


	3. Chapter 3

Roxas gave a soft sigh as he strolled into the Grey Room, looking around briefly, various members resting in the couches or chairs leisurely. The dark black and blue sky was visible from the massive, wall sized window. Saix was waiting for him again, this time accompanied by what appeared to be a man... with the strangest tone of pink as a hair color... His boots thumped on the ornate floor decorated with silver and gray patterns, moving up to Saix. He stared at the elegant man in confusion, looking the nobody up and down, eyebrow raising at the man's feminine features; Saix began to speak.

"Roxas," Saix addressed Number XIII, voice tainted with a hint of scorn as he spoke."You will be working with Marluxia today. Come see me when you are prepared accordingly."

The blue haired man didn't speak again as he turned on his heel, walking towards the window. Marluxia tilited his head in interest, brushing a few rose colored strands of hair from his face, shimmering rose petals twirling in his arm's path before they disintegrated into thin air.

"Well, there you have it. Welcome to the fold, Roxas." Marluxia, as he was called, welcomed in a almost seductive monotone, deep voice silky as he spoke. Each enunciated word almost commanded that one listened, and Roxas got a bad feeling from the Nobody, backing away a few steps, eyebrows furrowed in discomfort. Marluxia gave a loose chuckle, licking his lips as he turned, hips swaying as he walked away from the teenager. Roxas ignored this, cerulean eyes searching for Xigbar's presence, but he was absent from the room. The only other Nobodies he saw was a boy who looked to be near his age, resting in a chair to the left with some foreign type of instrument in his lap, and another blond with long hair standing towards the corner of the room, who appeared to be in some sort of pain. He figured that he shouldn't disturb either of them, opting to approach Saix.

"Are you ready to go Roxas? Marluxia will be teaching you basics about Heartless and collecting hearts," Saix informed Roxas sourly, one eyebrow raised not in interest but in something akin to disgust.

"Yeah..." Roxas said quietly, looking away from the stare directed at him.

"I see... Let's go, Roxas. Off to Twilight Town," Marluxia gave a smirk with underlying sinister vibes, placing a hand on said blond's back, the latter instantly shrugging it off. He didn't want that creepy male to touch him at all, it was weird... Maybe he was trying to be affable, but that was overly friendly to Roxas. Marluxia didn't seem offended, only amused, and that irritated Roxas, who scowled at the obvious vanity; Marluxia opened a portal for the two, leaving Roxas to follow him into the sunset bathed town, this time ending up in what appeared to be a sandlot complete with benches and buildings surrounding it. Across the lot was a bored with various colorful ads, some small trees planted near the two exits. There was silence as they took in the environment, Marluxia startling Roxas when he piped up.

"Roxas, was it?" Marluxia announced, letting a single digit rest to the side of his mouth in questioning, lips curling into what appeared to be a sneer as he looked over at the much smaller male."Excuse me, I never properly introduced myself."

Marluxia gave a pause before he flipped his hair vainly, voice filled with a false interest."I am Marluxia, Number XI."

Roxas reluctantly faced the unpleasant man, who gave off a sense of arrogance in his posture. Marluxia... just gave him the creeps. His blue orbs were filled to the brim egotism, looking at him like he was a piece of meat, his smile was misleading, giving him a false sense of comfort; He almost expected the man to do something to him.

"Okay... So what do I have to do today?" Roxas questioned, looking not at Marluxia but through him; He didn't want to look at the man's devious eyes. He hadn't seen all the members of the Organization yet, and had barely talked to two of them, but of all the people, he liked talking to Xigbar the most, and looking in the sniper's warm golden eye filled with interest and a mischievousness.

"Today, your job is to collect hearts."

"Um..." Roxas trailed off, raising a eyebrow. Hearts? The thing that beat inside your chest? Well... that was certainly disturbing. Were they going to take them from people or something? He might as well go along with it... "How do I do that?"

"Roxas, could you summon your... _keyblade, _for me?" The way Marluxia accentuated _'keyblade'_ was unsettling to Roxas.

"W-Well..." Roxas thought for a moment; He couldn't really say no.

"Sure, all right." Roxas' hand lit up in bright white light for a split second, and the Kingdom Key appeared in his hand, siilver blade and golden handle gleaming in the sun's radiance.

"Lucky Number XIII..." Marluxia spoke with a smirk; His voice carried hints of envy, blue eyes sliding up and down the Keyblade, examining the legendary weapon. "At last, a chosen wielder of the Keyblade amongst our ranks."

Suddenly, three pitch black creatures fazed up through the ground, twitching in what resembled them dancing in place, antennae twitching in every direction. There cold, lifeless yellow orbs looked around frantically at Marluxia and Roxas; Roxas gasped at the little creatures.

"Whoa, what the hell are those?" Roxas exclaimed, moving into a defensive position. Those things looked like massive, black ants missing a set of legs, only they had claws at the end of their tiny arms.

"Hmph," Marluxia gave a snide chuckle, shaking his head at the shock of the newest member."Nothing to be feared. So, Roxas, shall we put that power of yours to use? Use the Keyblade, and defeat those pesky Heartless."

"Alright then..." Roxas muttered. He dashed at the Shadow Heartless, but he gasped again when they turned into what there names applied: shadows. They scurried beneath him, scratching at his feet, but he jumped away, scowling at Marluxia's snickers. They reappeared on the ground, and Roxas charged, slashing at them repeatedly, knocking second and third away, the creatures sliding into the ground again, weaving away, and defeating the first, which dispersed into black smoke, leaving green spheres of health that restored energy and shiny crystals of what appeared to be gold; They flew into Roxas. Suddenly, the sneaky Heartless hopped from the ground, scratching at him; He hit the ground, groaning, and Marluxia laughed aloud. Roxas growled and got to his feet, slashing to get the Heartless away from him. The second faded like the first, the third darting away. Roxas whipped around, hacking at the Shadow Heartless which evaded all his attack with it's unpredictable movements; Finally he managed to chop its side, stunning it long enough for him to deliver the final hit. Roxas panted, desummoning his Keyblade as he walked up to Marluxia, who gave him a short round of applause.

"Good job, Roxas." Marluxia smirked."Those were Shadow Heartless."

"But what exactly are Heartless?" Roxas asked innocently.

"Dark creatures who roam about, stealing hearts. They come in two varieties. The ones you just defeated are known as Purebloods, and they don't release hearts when destroyed. In other words," Marluxia 'humph'ed, putting a hand on his hip."Don't bother with them. Your mission is to collect hearts, after all. The other kind-"

Marluxia was interrupted by the a group of Heartless, appearing in a ball of beige, silver, and purple energy, yellow triangles with golden hats and black faces, eyes akin to the Shadow Heartless.

"Hmph..." Marluxia scowled at the Heartless, eyebrows furrowed; He did _not _like getting interrupted, especially by worthless Heartless. "Is right over there. Forget about the Shadows, those yellow ones are your real targets."

Roxas sighed and summoned his Keyblade, charging at what looked like floating, yellow buckets, with a peculiar black and red emblem on their chests. The tips of their hats glistened with electricity, their tiny bodies shuddering as they released bolts of lightning at Roxas; He rolled to the side, narrowly dodging the bolts. Then their hats bustled with the electricity, and they charged at him, knocking him back with a yelp. His Keyblade was flung from his hands, making a loud 'clank' as it hit the ground. Roxas groaned, sitting up quickly. The Heartless charged at him again with thunder charged tackles, but he was already on his feet, running and grabbing at his Keyblade before whirling around and slashing at the nearest Heartless, which flew back, twirling back flips. He let out a grunt as he leapt and chopped at the Heartless, killing the first. He quickly took down the other Heartless before they had the chance to charge at him. As his feet hit the ground, he looked up, staring at the pink, circular things floating from the bodies before they faded away, the pink objects disappearing, while the green spheres and golden crystals fell to the ground. He had no idea what they were, but they seemed important, the why Marluxia was staring at them with resentment. He panted as he returned next to Marluxia for an explanation.

"Those are what we call Emblem Heartless." Marluxia explained, breathing slowly.

"Why are they so special? And were those pink things... Hearts?" Roxas asked, confused. What... was a heart?

"Ah, so you noticed... Hearts appear when you defeat them."

"Right..." Roxas raised a eyebrow, frowning. He was expecting more of a explanation than 'those are hearts'. He figured that out on his own.

"Your job is to collect the hearts released from the Emblem Heartless."

"Okay..." Roxas figured he wasn't going to get a real explanation from Marluxia. He guessed he would just ask Xigbar later... "Is there any sorta trick to getting the hearts?"

"Absolutely none. So long as they are felled by your... keyblade, the precious hearts will be captured." Marluxia gave a grin as his hand touched his chest briefly.

"I see. What happens to the hearts I collect? Do they go away?" Roxas questioned innocently. So far the man hadn't told him anything truly conclusive about what hearts were, besides what he gathered; That they were important, and they came from Heartless.

"They will gather as one, and create the almighty force we know as Kingdom Hearts." Marluxia flipped his hair again, smiling proudly. There one true goal.

"Which is... good for the Organization?"

"Correct. Completing Kingdom Hearts is our primary objective. And to complete it, we need all hearts we can find."

"So that's what the Organization does?...Collect hearts?" Roxas looked away from Marluxia briefly.

"Actually, you are first to accomplish letting a heart free."

"Wait, then-" Roxas was cut off by Marluxia.

"The rest of us can defeat Heartless just fine, but we cannot release the hearts. Eventually, hearts turn right back into Heartless. You see, then, how special you are, Roxas?"

"Hmmm..." Roxas put a finger on his lip, thinking... So he was the only one who could get these...'heart' things? So he was pretty much the key to reaching the Organization's goal. And his weapon much be quite special to release those hearts.

"With power likes yours-" Marluxia was cut off yet again, more Heartless appearing, the same yellow buckets floating and staring with souless eyes.

"Heh. Here they come. Each one is a gift, Roxas. Squeeze every last heart out of them!" Marluxia exclaimed in a almost deranged fashion, letting a devious smirk pull on his pale pink lips as he stared at Roxas in a almost jealous gaze. Such a wonderful addition to the Organization, a wielder of the legendary Keyblade, one who can collect hearts... Soon Kingdom Hearts would certainly come to fruitation with the aide of Roxas.

Roxas rolled his eyes at Marluxia's disturbing behavior, charging at the Heartless which conversed into a small group, huddling close, hats shaking. he knew the lightning would come soon, so he took the chance to leap and attack the Heartless, knocking some away but some let their lightning loose, but he dodged. Marluxia watched, shivering in anticipation at the power the teenager showed, easily defeating the Heartless within only a few hits. Such power for a young Keyblade wielder, something not so common, but then again, the weapon was quite picky from what he had been told, and what he found out himself.

"Excellent, Roxas." Marluxia congratulated the teenager, giving a prideful smirk. "Your work today is finished. I am quite amazed. That keyblade... The things that could be done with power like that.."

Marluxia, he was envious of the Keyblade, Roxas could see the look in his eyes as the pink haired man stared at him, and Roxas didn't look at the man's unsettling gaze; Roxas began to speak, but he trailed off.

"I have high hopes for you, Roxas- we all do. Defeat the many Heartless, and help us reach our.. _noble _goal."

"Yeah, all right..."

"Shall we RTC?"

"Guess so.." Roxas replied, going into the swirling portal on the ground, followed by Marluxia, who still smirked at him.

II~XIII~II~XIII

_So that's how i learned about the Organization's goal_

_To collect hearts to make Kingdom Hearts_

_I didn't know what a heart was, or how it even mattered_

_But at least I know my role_

II~XIII~II~XIII


End file.
